Vacana Journal Publication Ethics

Vacana Journal commits to maintaining the highest standards of ethical practice in academic publishing. These standards are aligned with the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and reflect a commitment to integrity, transparency, and responsible scholarship among editors, reviewers, and authors.

 

1. Editorial Responsibilities

• Editors must evaluate submissions objectively and impartially, without regard to the authors’ background, identity, or affiliation.
• Manuscripts must remain confidential throughout the review process and shared only with relevant parties (e.g., reviewers, editorial board).
• Editors are responsible for ensuring a rigorous, timely, and double-blind peer review process.
• Editors must select qualified reviewers with appropriate expertise and no conflicts of interest.
• Editors must prevent the publication of manuscripts that violate research ethics (e.g., plagiarism, falsified data).
• Editors must not misuse unpublished information from submissions in their own work.
  
  

2. Reviewer Responsibilities

• Reviewers must provide fair, constructive, and timely feedback to support editorial decisions.
• Reviewers must maintain strict confidentiality regarding all manuscript content.
• Reviewers must declare any conflicts of interest and recuse themselves if necessary.
• Reviewers must alert editors to ethical concerns or misconduct, such as plagiarism or data fabrication.
• Reviewers must not use any manuscript content or ideas for personal advantage without explicit author and editor permission.

 

3. Author Responsibilities

• Authors must submit original work that has not been previously published or is under review elsewhere.
• Proper citation and acknowledgment of all sources, contributors, and funding must be provided.
• Authors are responsible for accurate and transparent reporting of data and findings.
• Authors must disclose all conflicts of interest and funding sources that may affect the interpretation of their work.
• It is the authors’ responsibility to ensure the manuscript is professionally proofread, ideally by a native English speaker.
• In cases involving human or animal subjects, authors must include statements confirming ethical approval and informed consent where applicable.
• Authors must promptly inform the editor of any significant errors discovered post-publication and cooperate in issuing corrections or retractions.

 

4. Allegations of Misconduct and Reporting Mechanisms

• Vacana Journal takes allegations of misconduct seriously. Any ethical concerns may be reported confidentially to the editorial office.
• Reports will be investigated according to COPE guidelines, and appropriate actions (e.g., retraction, correction) will be taken.
  
  

5. Collaboration and Continuous Improvement

• Vacana Journal actively engages with ethical bodies such as COPE to ensure ongoing alignment with best practices in academic publishing.
  
  
  
• Regular updates to ethical policies will be made to reflect emerging standards and practices in scholarly communication.